World Day of Prayer

PRAYER

God, You are our Peace. Help us to remember You are with us, we can trust You and help us to think true and excellent things.

READING

Philippians 4:4-9

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

REFLECTION

Peter the Magnificent, Susan the Gentle, Edmund the Just, Lucy the Valiant and Amy the Anxious. Although I'm not a character in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, I do have the skill to be overtly alert to potential dangers. My weapon is the phrase "Yes, but what if...."

Don't be anxious! This is a command from Paul the apostle. How can he say this with such authority? Doesn't he know we have real worries like pandemics, choosing high school courses or University majors, friends who don't text back, co-workers that don't do their work, wars between Russia and Ukraine, marriage conflict and more? Of course Paul knows. Paul was in chains, locked up in a jail cell when he wrote this letter. If anyone knows, Paul knows about the true peace of God.

Paul offers an excellent piece of advice on how to experience God's peace through anxiety: think about excellent or praiseworthy things. He means, think about who God is, what God has done and will do. When we focus on God, our problems don't always automatically go away, but we do gain perspective. We can see our problems the way God sees them. God can give us solutions or help us rest and get our strength back. God cares about us and wants to help us.

The next time you feel anxious, ask God to remind you of God's presence. Think on true statements: You are precious to God and God will take care of you.

LENT CHECK IN

Try taking a moment to reflect on what you are thankful for. A great way to remember this list is to write it down. The next time you are feeling anxious, read and pray through your list.